Starter for explosion-engines in self-propelled vehicles.



PATENTED'AUG. I8, 1908.

Y IJ. :8. GARDNER. STARTER EoR EXPLOSION ENGINES IN SEEE PRORELLEDVEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED 00T. 5, 1907.

f rl A-ulnmuum v E wHIIIIIIIIIIII Nnnnnlmmummm UNITED STATES. PATENToEEroE.

DELAMERE n. GARDNER, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

STARTER non nxrnosnm-'ENernvns IN SELF-reorientar) VEHICLES.

Application led October 5, 197. Serial No. 396,064.

'To all whom 4'it may concern:

Beit known that I, DELAMERE B. GARDNER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county o'f Cook and State of described andexplained in the specificationV andshown in the accompanying drawings,in wlnch: l

- Figure 1 is a vertical section showing the construction of my improveddevice, and Fig.

2 is a section in the line 2vof Fig. 1 looking in the direction of thearrow. 4

Referring to the drawings, 'Ais the main engine shaft, which is rotatedby the explosion' engine driving the-vehicle 'and through which the saidengine can of course be rotated if desired. This shaft A carries a fly--wheel A1, the rear face of which is provided 'with a depression theperiphery of which is lconical in'form to engage with a clutch Bnormally held in engagement with said lflywheel by a p spring b andarranged to be thrown out of such engagement by means of a lever b1bifurcated at its lower end and provided with rollers of the usual formrunning in a groove in a boss providedupon the clutch member B. Thisportion of the -co'n-v struction'is of course old and Well known 'andlrequires no particular description.' The clutch member B is providedwith a square central perforation in which is fitted a square shaft Ccapable of av limited longitudinal movement through sai-d clutchmember..4

D is the case which contains/the gears; for changing the Vspeed of thevehicle, a maingear-'shaft D1 projecting forward from the frontoffthis'- case, The gear-case D is. of course stationarily secured inplace and is provided with a boss D2 concentric with re-V spect to theshaft D1, the said boss being provided at its forward end with aninterior con- .ical surface d. The-forward end of the main gear-shaft'D1 is provided with a series of screw-threads d1 which engagewith afemale threaded portion at the rear of the intermediat'e' square shaftC. A clutch member AE is provided upon the rear of the intermediatesuareshaft C, thelsaid member being adapte" vto' engage with the forwardconical'surface Specification of Letters Patent.

.Patented Aug. 18, 1908.

A block G is slidably mounted upon the rear end of the intermediateshaft C and between.

of the ,member F.

this block and the flange f2 is interposed a spiral spring H.

The operation of my im roved device is substantlall as follows: en theengine is 'running to rive the vehicle the parts all occupy thepositions shown in Fig. 1,..and. the clutch E is disengaged from theboss D2. The ower of the engine is transmitted from the yfwheel to theclutch B, thence to the intermediate shaft C, and thence, throughthescrew-thread connection, to the main gear-shaft D1, thus driving thevehicle. When it is desired tosto y the vehicle, the clutch B is firstdisen age in the usual way, thus letting the fly-w eel run free, andfrom that time on the intermediate shaft C and the clutch B are drivenonly by the momentum of the vehicle` The clutch E is then engaged withthe boss Dgrthrough the medium of the lever e, thereby stop ing therotation of the intermediate shaft C) and of the block G.

The shaft D1 and the member F will, .how-

essarily sli thus operating as a brake on the vehicle an bringing it toa stop. The parts are so proportione and arranged, that the number ofturns of the shaft D1 relative to' the shaft C t'o reach the limit ofthe' capacity of the spring H, -will not exceed the number "ofturns ofthe screw-thread, so that the shafts will never become completelydisengaged, and the threads are made of such pitch that the shaft C hasarmplerooni to erorm the longitudinal movement cause by this unscrewingwithout contacting with the end ofthe main shaft A.

When it is desired to again start the vehicle, the clutch B is Vfirstengaged in the usual wa'yfand the clutch E is disengaged. The

spring H then operates torotate the interi mediate Shea o, anche,aywheel and engine-shaft, thus starting the engine. In the meantime theshafts C and D1 are screwed together so that as Vthe 'engine starts itdrives through what amounts tov a solid shaft to the change gears.

It will b eobvious, of course, that while I have showman'd described astarting device l particularly ada ted to be used between the engine andthe c ange gearcase, it need not necessarily be located in thisposition, nor'in fact need any change gear-case necessarily be used. Theessential point is merely that'the shaft D1 shall be a driven shaft fromwhich,

shaft A shall be a shaft, having, at least while 1 the device is in oeration, asdriving connection with the exp oslve engine, and that theeither directly or indirectly, it is desired to take power.

I realize'that considerable variation is pos- .v sible in the detailsofconstruction without departing from the spirit of my invention,

and I do notintend therefore to limit myself tothe specific form hereinshown and described.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure i byLettersv Patent, is:r

1. The combination with a' driving shaft having operativeconnection-with an vinternal-combustion engine and a driven shaftladaptedto be connected to and disconnected from saididriving-shaft, ofmeans for absorb- `ing the momentum of said driven shaft vand the partsconnected therewith and storing the energy thereof while the drivenshaft is disconnected from the engine, and means for transmitting suchstored energy to said drivn ing shaft to start the engine.

v2. The combination with a driving shaft `having operative'` connectionwith an internal-combustion engine and a driven shaft, of

I 1 means for connecting said shafts whereby shaft to start the engineconnected thereV the normal operation of the driving shaft will drivethe driven shaft and the parts connected thereby, means fordisconnecting said shafts, meansfor absorbing and storing the energy ofthe momentum of the driven shaft and the parts operated thereby whilesaid shafts are disconnected, andmeans for transmittmg lsuch storedenergy to the driving -3. Thecombination with a driving shaft'- havingconnection with an internal-combustion englne and a driven shaft,ofmeans adapted 4to connect* said shafts and to dis- 2 Connect the same, aspring adapted to 'absorb .the momentum of the driven shaft and the yparts carried thereby while said shafts are disconnected, and means forconnecting said spring with said driven shaft to rotate the same for thepurpose of starting said engine.

4. Theycombination'with a driving shaft connected to aninternal-combustion engine and a driven shaft, of an elastic memberncr-` mally movable with. said shaft, means for connecting said shaftstogether whereby one drives the other, permanent means of connectionbetween one of two relatively movable points' upon said elastic member,by whose relativemovement ower is stored up or given off, means for locing the other said relatively m'ovable point in a stationary positionwhereby the momentum of the driven shaft is absorbed in the elasticmember, and

`means for connecting said point to the drivl in shaft to set the samein .motion when ythe driven shaft is' stationary.

l 5, T he combination with a driving shaft` connected tol aninternal-combustion engine and a driven shaft, kof means of connectionbetween said shafts whereby one drives the other, and means fordisconnecting said' shafts, a spring having one end connected to thedriven shaft, andrmeans for alternatively connecting the opposite end ofsaid spring to a stationary point or to the driving shaft, whereby powermay be stored in the spring by absorbing momentum of the driven shaftand subsequently transmitted to the driving shaft for starting theengine.

6. The combination with a driving shaft connected to anlinternal-combustion enginesaid end of the spring fromsaid stationary 4point and connecting the same to the-driving shaft for starting.v theengine connectedv thereto. p

7. The combination with a driving shaft having :an internal-combustionengine connected thereto anda driven shaft, of an intermediate shaftconnected to the driven shaft and capable of a limited rotation withrespect thereto in either direction, a clutch whereby the intermediateshaft can be conl nected to the driving shaft, a spring inter'- posedbetweenthe driven shaft and the intermediate shaft, said spring being atits point of lowest vnormal tension when the shafts arey at one limit ofrelative rotation,`

and a second clutch whereby the intermediate shaft can be frictionallylocked in a sta,-`

tionary position, whereby, by disenga ing the intermediate shaft fromthe driving s aft and locking it stationary, the momentum of the drivenshaft and the parts connected theretocan be stored in the spring andsubsequently transmitted. to the driving shaft by connecting theintermediate shaft therewit and 'releasing the same from its stationaryposition, the intermediate shaft and driving shaft moving relativelyduring the action of said s ring.

v 8.. n a device of 'the class described, the combination with amain-shaft connected to an internal-combustion engine, of anintermediate shaft and a driven shaft having a 'f and the intermediateshaft.

9. The combination With a driving shaft connected to aninternal-combustion engine,

a driven shaft and an intermediate shaft'having a .threaded connectionwith the driven shaft, of clutches whereby the intermediate shaft canalternatively be locked to the driv' ing shaft or to a stationarydevice7 a iianged membe'i` secured to the driven-'shaft andoverhangingthe intermediate shaft, a block siidablel upon the intermediate shaftand Within said flanged member, and a spring in`- terposed between saidblock and said flanged member.l I

DELAMERE B. GARDNER. In presence of- F. J. MEGKEL,

AnoLro LPEZ.

